A developer has reluctantly agreed to submit fresh plans for extending a city centre restaurant in Inverness as part of an ambitious expansion of the Eastgate centre.
Images of a new-look Filling Station diner on the corner of Academy Street could be revealed before Christmas and showcased at a further public consultation in the coming months.
Councillors last month rejected designs for the extension, despite planning officials recommending approval.
The Eastgate Unit Trust applied to extend the property onto the gable elevation of the adjacent Falconer Building.
The proposals are part of a package that could ultimately involve the Laura Ashley building becoming a restaurant and the centre also boasting a rooftop bar and dining area.
Councillors felt the vision for the C-listed Filling Station in Academy Street “failed to protect and enhance” the building’s “rich and diverse cultural and natural heritage”.
At the same time they approved proposals for four new restaurant units to face the square.
Scoop Asset Management bought the Eastgate last summer in a £116million deal.
Speaking yesterday, spokesman Graham Cole said: “We’re likely to be resubmitting an application.
“We’re somewhat taken aback, still. The application, which had been very carefully put together, had been well rehearsed with all of the planning officers, had been seen by the urban design officer and changed for him.
“They had had various choices, there was plenty of consultation. There wasn’t a single objection and it went forward with an officer’s recommendation for approval.
“And yet, at the end of what was clearly a long hard day at the planning committee when there was only a small residue of relevant members left, they decided to turn it down.
“We still don’t think there is anything wrong with the ethos of what we’re trying to do, which is to inject a degree of something into the centre of Inverness that isn’t there at the moment.”
The wider multimillion-pound Eastgate redevelopment could pave the way for extended opening hours at the centre.
